Hindering Conditions against Spiritual Care according to the Perception of the Palliative Care Health Team

Abstract

Introduction: The population of elderlies dying as a result of cancer is steadily increasing worldwide. Palliative care implies a comprehensive approach including spiritual care. This is valued by the patient and caregivers, but is little addressed in clinical practice.

Objective: To establish the hindering conditions perceived by the health care team against providing spiritual care to elderlies under palliative care.

Methods: A qualitative study was carried out, with a phenomenological/interpretative approach, as well as an intrinsic case study design. Semistructured interviews and focus groups were conducted on a health team working at the palliative care unit of a health care center in Chile between 2019 and 2020. The analysis was performed with a grounded theory approach, which allowed to propose comprehensive schemes of the phenomenon under study with the support of the Atlas-ti 9.0 program.

Results: Two hindering conditions were categorized: one is related to the patient and their family, while the other is related to institutional structural and formative aspects. There is a perception of an ineffective coping with the disease on the part of the patient and their family, manifested by a denial of death and increased in those not worshipping. In addition, the scientific emphasis of training and the formative absence in spiritual care undermines workers’ motivation to become involved.

Conclusions: It is necessary to create strategies for the incorporation of spiritual care, from local practices that are translated into systemic ones; however, it is necessary to begin by reversing the formative absence, a reason why the practical knowledge emerging from experience is proposed to be rescued.